Portland
Portland, formerly one of the largest cities in the pre-war United States, is now a ruined urban wasteland populated by various different groups that have vied for control of the concrete husk for almost two centuries. The situation has stabilized somewhat in recent years, with much of Portland being re-inhabited in the years following the Great War, with the famous Portland 'weirdness' even making something of a rather muted return, but Portland has remained a flashpoint for conflict throughout this rebuilding, with numerous factions and individuals vying for control of the shattered remnants of this former metropolis. History Pre-War Prior to the Great War the city of Portland was a thriving metropolis enjoying the great boom of prosperity seen following the end of World War II; arguably one of the most desirable and modern cities in the United States, it boasted a thriving service and leisure economy unrivaled on the East Coast. Luxurious hotels, five star restaurants; all were to be found in the city. Of course, Portland also had its famously bohemian lifestyle to advertise itself with; a counter-cultural place of beatnik artists, refusing to jive to the squares' rules, with all the coffee shoppes, fashion boutiques and poetry clubs that entailed. Though this hardly matched much of the rest of the United States' all American, patriotic, white-picket-fence sensibilities, it nonetheless found its place in large parts of Portland, with its famously anti-consumerist devotees buying up every consumer good on the market, buoyed by trust-funds and meager earnings from the odd poetry workshop. Of course, by the 2060s and the declaration of the Sino-American War, government patience with these otherwise trivial alternative lifestyles lived by a considerable portion of the populace had grown increasingly thin; opposition to the draft and increasing numbers of protests regarding the ever-intensifying food rationing further aggravated the city, state and federal governments to the point where action, of any nature, was determined to be utterly necessary; arrests of prominent demonstration leaders, regardless of their familial connections, and their subsequent disappearances in custody, often at the hands of shadowy figures supposedly working for the Defense Intelligence Agency, did little to inspire patriotic values in these draft-dodging chem-takers. Beyond the putting down of protests, the military presence was fairly lax, save for the usual troop movements as forces made the great push to the coast and beyond, likely to see action in the Pacific against the Chinese. Sizable stockpiles of arms and ammunition were placed in especially high concentrations at select locations, such as the Air National Guard base and the odd DIA safehouse, in the event of what was feared to be the possibility of a second-front opening on the West Coast. As the 2060s drew on, the fear of Chinese invasion became less of a concern; instead, these stockpiles were reinforced by supplies of disaster relief equipment, specifically Rad-X and RadAway, as fears of an atomic war prompted by a now desperate and losing China grew amongst civil and military authorities. Of course, the rush to offer protection and assurance drew many tempted buyers; the Vault-Tec Corporation, all too keen to jump on board the ever-growing demand for protection from the equally expanding threat of atomic war settled with civil-authorities in Portland a multi-million dollar contract to build the extensive Vault 9, advertised even before construction had begun as the pinnacle of safe-and-secure luxury. Completed in 2068, with hostilities roaring across the world, the Vault's waiting list consisted of a variety of characters; government officials, established silver-screen actors, forward-thinking industrialists and well-established local society figures signing themselves and their families, no matter how sneeringly counter-cultural, to what was hoped to be an iron-plated guarantee against destruction in any potential nuclear holocaust. Of course, the average blue-collar worker was unlikely to be able to afford the pricey entrance fee; so, to fill the demand, Pulowski Preservation Services quite merrily jumped on the bandwagon with their patented Pulowski Preservation shelters; nuclear protection on a budget, as was well advertised. Despite the growing concern, many in Portland were convinced that, as long as the conventional war with China went well, no chance of any nuclear war or resulting annihilation stood at all; many right-minded patriots went about their self-proclaimed duties, whilst Portland's plucky would-be revolutionaries hurled abuse at the steady stream of troops. With the liberation of Alaska from Chinese forces on the 10th January, many on the home front breathed a sigh of relief; the war, it seemed, was over - with it, any possible threat to the American way of life. That feeling of relief soon gave way to a sense of dread as the later months of 2077 dragged on. Though the war in China was going well by all accounts, the situation on the homefront was becoming increasingly unstable as resources became more scarce, to the point where even those in the still deeply influential civil-service of Portland were noticing a distinct lack of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes in their pantries. Rationing and political protests, the latter carried out in outrage over the detainment of huge numbers of Chinese-American citizens, only served to worsen Portland's position - and, strengthen the military garrison. Fears of Communist sedition rather than Communist invasion became the chief fear amongst planners. Anti-war civil-disobedience, carried out previously as more of a statement of counter-cultural, anti-war, anti-capitalist faux-radicalism than actual discontent, became riots, as spineless beatniks were joined by the determined throng of the average Joe and Jane America in battles with civil-authorities and even members of the armed forces. Ration lines also became a source of rioting, with much of the violence allegedly caused by trigger-happy guardsmen of the Oregon National Guard. By the fall of 2077, the violence in Portland and the resulting damage to private and public property had escalated to the that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were soon dealing with damages done to public infrastructure through orchestrated sabotage by civilian malcontents - not that this was admitted, instead being blamed on Communist forces residing in the few shadowy slums where many Chinese citizens had been corralled. Many concerned citizens joined in, with neighborhood watches organised to combat the rising violence as well; private ownership of firearms, large even 'til this point, swelled; this only helped to escalate violence, when the neighborhood watches themselves began targeting prominent figures within the various demonstrations, seeking to prove themselves patriots to the last. Portland by early October of 2077 was a powder-keg, primed and ready to explode, though it might have seemed quite different when looking at the thoroughly propagandized newspapers circulating through Portland's streets, patrolled frequently by well-armed members of the National Guard. Much of the rioting at this point had been suppressed, and many of the leaders of the demonstrations that had become such a thorn in the side of the authorities had been rounded up for sedition and even down-right treason. The streets were relatively calm again, though that was largely put down to most upstanding citizens being still too afraid to come out in the midst of the ongoing military crackdown. Great War On October 23, 2077, Portland's civil and military authorities received advanced warning that nuclear strikes had been carried out by the Chinese. As efforts were made to quickly evacuate key figures to secure locations, sirens blared and Civil-Defense agencies rushed into action. Hundreds in the northern metropolitan area of Portland scrambled to get to and enter Vault 9; hundreds more than the Vault had been built to contain. Members of the Vault's security and those few dutiful military and law enforcement personnel left were forced to fend off hundreds of desperate people at gunpoint as those approved were allowed entrance, usually with one last hesitant glance at the chaos behind them. Chaos reigned as looting and panic spread. Soon enough, a combination of nuclear warheads and atomic ordnance fell on Portland, to devastating effect. Much of the great city was leveled in the space of a few brief minutes, thousands died in what seemed only mere seconds, with many at the doors of the Vault ineffectually scratching at it when the blast hit. Those who survived, in the initial blasts, survived outside of the vault in either poorly-planned and hastily constructed shelters or even sewers were left to brave the radiation that followed, alongside the burning fires and scorching debris; those on the blasted city streets who had, by some miracle, survived were left to the agonizing, drawn-out process of ghoulification, becoming the city's first number of Ghouls, feral or otherwise. Those taken to refuge in the Vault were left sheltered from the blasts and the after-effects, but shocked by the suddenness and sheer destruction they had borne witness to; numbed by the thought of a new, harder life underground, many would be given precious few days to come to terms with their new lives in the shelter of Vault 9 - on the surface, others would not be so lucky, plunging headlong into a grim, irradiated nightmare of a future. Post-War Initial Chaos The situation in Portland immediately following the Great War was pure hell. Thousands more people who survived the blasts on the first days died in the utter chaos that ensued afterwards. Much of Portland's downtown had been leveled by the bombs, and almost no unmutated survivors had survived there. The ghouls and few scattered humans left there left for safer areas as soon as they could. So, downtown more or less emptied out in the first few days after the Great War. Meanwhile, the parts of Portland further out from where the bombs fell were only relatively better. The survivors there mostly scrambled to find shelter from radiation though some like the surviving members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon National Guard tried to maintain order in the face of Armageddon. They faced no real violent opposition, but it was hard enough to just remain alive in those days. Those unfortunates residing inside the Chinese detainment slums who survived the bombs were either left to die if they stayed or killed by the remaining neighborhood watchmen who were now crazed. The people living in Portland outside ground zero, mostly those who had sheltered themselves during the attacks, either hunkered down to wait out the fallout or fled the metropolitan areas for greener pastures. That mad rush out of Portland in the days following the Great War only led to greater bloodshed when fights began to break out between refugees over supplies. This attracted the attention of the remaining National Guard who broke with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at that point, deciding to take advantage of the situation to get some more supplies. This led to a brief bloody battle on the shores on the Willamette River on October 28, 2077 that had no real victor. The refugees and the National Guardsmen that clashed there effectively killed each other. Following that small battle, activity in Portland reduced greatly as most of the refugees who could leave left and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unit there effectively dissolved into nothing. With the police, the National Guard, and the military gone, there were no more obstacles to the coming darkness of the post-War period. The black rain began to fall on October 31, killing much of the remaining vegetation and animals along with many of the stupider survivors who had remained outside. The winter of 2077 was especially harsh as well, with many more people who had held on until then dying from the cold or the remaining radiation. The only small community that managed to persist on Mount Tabor due to the perseverance of the refugees there and the help of local ghouls who wished to retain a connection with humanity. In the years following the Great War, Portland grew cold and barren, with only the community on Mount Tabor persisting (though inbreeding became a problem) while the only things that lived in the city proper were ghouls and scattered scavengers. Most people learned to avoid Portland due to the danger from radiation and mutants, while some scavengers delved deep into its depths looking for valuable salvage. It was a dangerous location but rewarding on occasions. These scavengers often clashed with the ghouls and the people of Mount Tabor. The chaos that permeated Portland since the Great War finally began to end after 2100 after scavengers finally learned to avoid the city. Things finally came to a sort of quiet. The Dust Settles As time passed, the initial violence that characterized the early days following the Great War lessened. Early scavengers decided the dangers Portland posed were not worth the trouble, and most of them decided to let the dead city be. That led to a small ghoul community being established in the ruined downtown of Portland while the people of Mount Tabor grew more isolated and paranoid. The non-feral ghouls in Portland mostly congregated in the ruins of the Portland Art Museum. There, they established a little community that lived on the edge of a radioactive crater. The ghouls in the ruins of the Portland Art Museum often bickered whether they should establish a New-Age type commune or something similar to the communities of pre-War America, but they never really agreed on on a definitive choice. The ghouls mostly just carried on hobbies and routines in their little corner of Portland, hoping to not attract too much negative attention. Meanwhile, the settlement on Mount Tabor, the only community of unmutated humans in Portland, puttered on. The people living there scavenged and farmed mutant animals to survive. It was a rough existence living near one of the most radioactive parts in the area, but that danger also guarded the community from many predators such as raiders and mutated carnivores. However, this also forced the little town to remain isolated from the outside and made them vulnerable to inbreeding. The only notable incident involving Mount Tabor in the early 2100s was a lone raider attack in 2117 which was unsuccessful. Even as radiation still proved to be a danger to interlopers, many scavengers tried to make their way into the ruins of Portland. Most of these scavengers died in their attempts to exploit the dead, but stories of the pre-War riches stored within Portland began to circulate in the generations following the Great War. By 2160, Portland had built up a reputation as the next big place for scavengers in Cascadia as Seattle began to get emptied out. Settlement was still unsuccessful because of 'natural' obstacles nevertheless. The Vault and the Mutant War While scavengers and mutants roamed the wasteland above, the vault below Portland, Vault 6, persisted on its own. That was not to say life there was easy, with limited resources and internal conflicts, but the vault dwellers got by. Vault 9 was an experiment in what was essentially anarchic hyper-capitalism, where everything could be bought and sold. Everything was a commodity, including human beings. When Vault 9 opened, it was supposed to be an abject lesson to help build a more stable, orderly society. However, instead the vault opened while under the thumb of a greedy, murderous autocrat who had essentially 'beat the system' by becoming Overseer. Vault 9 opened in 2194 to an unforgiving wasteland. Yet, the vault dwellers were quickly able to secure a safe zone around Vault 9's entrance. The vault dwellers immediately began sending scout teams into Portland's ruins. They found only more death and mutants. The vault dwellers considered whether they should just stay in Vault 9, but enough felt like they needed to stay on the surface that they did. The main concern of the vault dwellers was where to set down their G.E.C.K. to begin agriculture. It took the vault dwellers almost ten years to come around to living on the surface and getting their G.E.C.K. to work. However, the vault dwellers did not really wait until the G.E.C.K. before they left the vault. Many entrepreneurs from the vault made their way into Portland's ruins to look for new opportunities. That included starting new businesses on the surfaces scavenging and trading. In 2203, the vault dwellers finally found an area suitable for their G.E.C.K.: a pre-War city park. Oregon Brushfire Wars Tribal Retribution Layout Portland is roughly defined by a northern border on the Columbia River and southwest border on the Willamette River. The ruins in the north are more chaotic, inhabited by both Skull-Taker's Legion and raiders. The southern part of Portland's ruins is mostly dominated by the FNA, though hold of the settlements and ruins there is still not secure. The FNA forces only have a weak political hold on the settlements they protect, even though some of them have been under their authority for almost twenty years. It is unclear whether the FNA (or Skull-Taker's Legion) will have any staying power, and Portland will just have to see who lasts longer. Economy Portland's economy has three major resources that fuel it: scavenged goods, water, and trade. Farming is not the norm in Portland's ruins and most settlements trade for their food, though that was not the case in the past. Scavengers are still a backbone to the economy, though their role is slowly shrinking as time goes on. Skilled laborers and caravaners meanwhile are becoming a more common sight as Portland is pulled further into the twenty third century. The most common scavenged goods trafficked through Portland are ammunition, canned goods, and scrap electronics. Ammunition and weapons are notoriously recurrent in Portland, though their frequency can be overstated. Culture Known as a bastion of counterculture before the war, Portland has some similarities to its past self as well as some differences. The various communities in the ruins of Portland have a diversity of cultures which stem from Vault 9, not pre-War Portland. Only a few pre-War ghouls strive to maintain Portland's weird status. Meanwhile, the communities in the ruins have their own post-War culture developed due to more recent experiences like the arrival of super mutants, the destruction of original Vault 9 community, and the outbreak of the Oregon Brushfire Wars. Notable Characters General Virgo Clark A former Son of Liberty and raider, General Virgo Clark of the Free Northwestern Army has come a long way since leaving NAP Territory. He is now the most powerful man in Portland. Clark took the helm of general of FNA forces in the Portland area after the violent death of the venerable General Clint Bundy in 2285. General Clark's rather opportunistic but personable approach to leading his troops has clashed with the more traditional FNA in Portland who used to be Mutant Hunters. He is still adjusting to his larger leadership role while stoking his resentment towards the Sons of Liberty. Luckily, Clark's rather gregarious and practical personality has smoothed things out quite a bit and certainly helped the FNA's relations with various settlements in Portland. His current goal is to break the power of Skull-Taker's Legion and unite Portland under the rule of the Free Northwestern Army. His stance on the New California Republic is skeptical if not outright hostile, again setting him apart from many others in the FNA. Caesar Skull-Taker Caesar Skull-Taker is the leader of Skull-Taker's Legion and a tribal warlord. Some call him a prophet, some call him a warrior, some call him a maniac. The group, Skull-Taker's Legion, is his dream and he leads it as he sees fit. Any that oppose him have to deal with the business end of his mini-gun, particularly those who count themselves as part of "civilization". Consciously imitating Caesar’s Legion, Caesar Skull-Taker hopes to one day recreate his idol’s success in Cascadia. Giuseppe Romano Giuseppe Romano has been called many things over the course of his life, from a scoundrel to a huckster and worst of all, a politician. Currently the mayor of Cornell, Romano is admittedly rather corrupt but is still beloved by the people and had their best interests at heart. Born in Cornell and the son of a shoemaker, Giuseppe Romano has an ambitious and rose in power through being the crony for other more powerful figures at the time. Romano had already been a bookkeeper, a goods inspector, and a secretary to the mayor when he became mayor himself in 2280. He has remained in office since by currying favor with the FNA for continued protection, promoting trade with caravans, and making historic connections with other settlements around Portland. Romano’s ego and whetted Napoleon complex make things hard sometimes, but no one except a couple of raiders have died because of Romano yet. In current times, Mayor Romano is still entertaining the FNA at hands’ length while also making some caps on the side. Commander Jeanine Park The mercenary commander of the Snakebites, Jeanine Park is a severe personality with a massive chip on her shoulder. Jeanine Park is a former member of the Sons of Liberty similarly to Virgo Clark, but she left on her own accord, unlike Clark. She went on to form the mercenary group the Snakebites in 2278 to protect vulnerable settlements. At the time, the FNA was still very weak, and raiders still had a heavy presence in the city. Jeanine has built up her reputation and her mercenary group since that time. The rise of the FNA and Skull-Taker's Legion has led to Jeanine's situation becoming more complicated. She has to cooperate with General Clark, who she detests, several times and avoid the conflicts between the two largest factions in Portland. Jeanine's austere attitude and methodical outlook has kept the Snakebites together but also makes her rather friendless socially. Her cold exterior and robotic leg have led to her gaining a nickname "Park the Tool". Her time away from the Sons of Liberty has worn on her over time however it may seem on the surface. Nevertheless, Jeanine fights on into the future with no thoughts of returning to NAP Territory. Sharon Futterman Sharon Futterman, originally a caravaner from California, has become something of an entrepreneur by settling down in Oswego and opening up Café 13. If you want something, she can get it for you. Sharon arrived in Portland around 2281 when the Oregon Brushfire Wars were winding down. She felt that she could make a lot of money peddling NCR products on the frontier, and her insider connections help her do this. Inserting herself into Oswego's community and buying property there, Sharon set up Café 13 as a 'legitimate' business. Most of Sharon's caps have really been made through her more clandestine dealings such as chem dealing, gun running, and human trafficking. Sharon has made a great deal of money over the last couple of years, mostly through helping out the FNA. However, Sharon has a surprisingly low opinion of the FNA and is quite ready to leave Café 13 behind if her life is threatened. Sharon, a slippery individual, is not really that concerned about the factional situation in Cascadia besides what will keep her safe. Farrakhan An unlikely character, Farrakhan is one of the New Disciples in Portland and a rather simple-minded super mutant. Farrakhan's first memories are emerging from the massive FEV vats in Mariposa Military Base with only his name and a fanatical devotion to the Master. Farrakhan was a member of the Master's Army for years, fighting wastelanders and ghouls in numerous battles. Particularly, Farrakhan killed numerous ghouls at Necropolis even though it made him feel horrible. Everything changed for Farrakhan after the arrival of the Vault Dweller, the fall of the Master, and the dissolution of the Master's Army. The Master's death left Farrakhan without a purpose, and he did not want to keep on fighting for the Unity unlike some other remnants of the Master's Army. Making his way north alone, Farrakhan had a rough time of it making his way through the wasteland. The super mutant eventually holed up in a ruin in Oregon and lived as a hermit for a couple of years without a purpose. That was until the arrival of a Christian missionary in 2228 to Farrakhan's home who convinced him to believe in something again: God. Farrakhan's conversion to Christianity brought him hope again and asked the missionary if he could join his order. The missionary told Farrakhan that he was a member of the New Disciples and offered to take the super mutant back to his mission in Portland. The two made their way back to Portland to rejoin the New Disciples there. Upon arriving back in the New Disciples mission at Mount Tabor, Farrakhan immediately decided to join the visionary organization. Farrakhan continued to work diligently as a New Disciple for the next fifty years or so as many came and went through the mission. The work Farrakhan did mostly had to with the mission’s protection and moving heavy materials. Today, Farrakhan continues to work happily at the Mount Tabor mission for the New Disciples and is a good friend of the current leader Jenny. He welcomes the stability the FNA brings, even though many ex-Mutant Hunters would not hesitate to head-shot Farrakhan if given the chance. He views raiders and Skull-Taker’s Legion as threats to the New Disciples’ safety and therefore evil. Farrakhan also abhors killing due to his experiences in the Master’s Army and tries not to kill those who attack the New Disciples unless he has to. Gremlin Gremlin is a vicious raider boss whose small raider gang is based out of Government Island so as to control one of the bridges over the Columbia River. One of Portland's last raiders, Gremlin is trying to keep a balancing act between the Free Northwestern Army and Skull-Taker's Legion while also having some rather sadistic fun on the side. Born to some Portland scavengers in 2260, Gremlin was brought up among the chaos of the War of the Northwestern Alliance. FNA troopers, Oregon tribals, and scavenger turned Oregon partisans all clashed in the streets while people like Gremlin ran about just trying to survive. Many of his friends died but fortunately his parents survived, mostly thanks to help from the New Disciples. One of Gremlin's better childhood memories was meeting Stern's Raiders in 2269. Still a wide-eyed child, Gremlin idolized these heroic figures as close to gods. That was until shortly after when all of Stern's Raiders were wiped out at the Battle of Black Peak. When the War of the Northwestern Alliance wound down, the FNA in Portland were too exhausted to really enforce their will over the city, and it fell into darkness. Gremlin became a mischievous little thief to survive, but he still had a heart. Gremlin's parents were barely scraping by in 2274 and in order to survive while feeding his other three siblings, they pushed Gremlin out on the street. The following fight for survival changed Gremlin into the beast that he is today. In 2275, Gremlin was recruited by a raider gang to attack the caravans that were still trying to brave Portland's bridges over the Columbia River. Gremlin's raiding led him to great moral degeneration as he took part in numerous examples of torture, rape, and murder. Gremlin eventually became the boss of the Government Island Gang in 2280 and entered his leadership with a bang, burning his way through a large part of the ruins to usher in his ascendancy. The rest of Gremlin's time as boss was a lot quieter, with caravaners and wastelanders continuously avoiding Government Island. Life has been getting rather boring lately for Gremlin, and he is just about ready to take some risks to get back on track. An immoral raider boss, Gremlin cares little for anyone besides himself. He would sell his own mother if it would save his own skin. However, this selfishness does not reduce Gremlin's combat skill, and he is possibly to most skillful melee fighter in Portland. He is very recognizable due to his scavenged raider armor and radiation-twisted fire axe. Gremlin has no real inclinations towards factions within Portland since he is mostly too high on psycho and jet to care. Fleet Foot Fleet Foot is a tribal scavenger who survived her tribe being assimilated and now lives around Mount Tabor. A descendant of the vault dwellers who emerged from Vault 9, Fleet Foot was born into a primitive tribe living in the ruins of Portland around 2266. Fleet Foot was born into the turbulent environment of the War of the Northwestern Alliance with several factions fighting for control. That included Fleet Foot's tribe, cannibalistic Oregon tribals, who supported the Northwestern Alliance. However, Fleet Foot never fought for the alliance, only around to witness its collapse and with that the fall of Portland into chaos. Fleet Foot's mother was killed by a FNA trooper in 2270 which drove her father to drink even as she was growing up. Fleet Foot mostly spent her time away from her father in Portland's ruins, scavenging and picking through garbage. The tribal lifestyle had begun to change as the tribe was forced to confront their own shortcomings. The tribe Fleet Foot grew up in was changed forever with the arrival of Skull-Taker's Legion in 2285. The tribal army overwhelmed much of the FNA in the northern part of Portland, which pleased many tribals. That eventually resulted in an emissary arriving at the tribals' camp to offer them a place in Skull-Taker's Legion. The tribal elders seemed eager to join up while many of the lower-ranking in the tribe, including Fleet Foot, who were still cautious about Skull-Taker's Legion. The division within the tribe did not stop the tribal elders from joining up with Skull-Taker's Legion. This left a couple of tribals like Fleet Foot behind, left with only their morals and memories. Continuing her life as a scavenger, Fleet Foot made her way south until she made her way to Mount Tabor. There, she has lived as a scavenger for about two years gathering scrap and food. Her tribal origins, bizarre appearance, and sympathies to Skull-Taker's Legion isolate Fleet Foot from many in Mount Tabor. Fleet Foot has managed to fend off any advances by drunken FNA troopers, but her being a tribal has led to the FNA watching her for different reasons. She could be more assimilated, but Fleet Foot is too proud to abandon her heritage for a chance of success. Slime Once a soldier in the United States Army, the ghoul Slime has come a long way since the Great War. Slime was born Andrew Boucher in 2056 to French-Canadian parents who lived in Maine. Living around Portland, Maine, Andrew joined the Army early in the flower of his youth to see the world. He was only in China for a couple of months before being pulled back to the States for concerns about domestic safety. This was disappointing for Andrew, but he followed orders. Andrew was deployed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before the war came to America. When the bombs fell, Andrew survived the initial blasts in an Army bomb shelter. Andrew, donning power armor, emerged from the bomb shelter in 2078 to enforce America's will on the wasteland. That did not work out as expected. Andrew’s unit was quickly overwhelmed by the sick and dying begging for anything to survive on. The remaining soldiers, working with the National Guard, attempted to remain steely-hearted to survive on their own scant supplies. Empathetic to the survivors’ plight, Andrew secretly gave some children supplies and told them to leave Portland. Only a month or so after emerging from their fallout shelter, the soldiers began experiencing the effects of radiation poisoning and mass desertion. Harried on all sides by men, beasts, and weather twisted by radiation, Andrew decided it was time to leave in early 2078, along with his power armor. His former squad-mates, now well on their way to becoming ghouls and quite mad, chased Andrew for days after his desertion until he lost them in the ruins of Portland’s heavily irradiated Central City. There, among the molten slag of fallen skyscrapers and cracked streets, Andrew nearly went insane. However, Andrew Boucher did not for one reason: he found a live baby bawling in the center of the radiation in Portland. This flabbergasted the ghoul, who assumed no non-mutant could ever survive the location’s unforgiving environment. Not wanting the babe to die from exposure, Andrew scooped up the baby and took it back to safety. Finding that baby gave Andrew a purpose again, another goal besides just surviving. He had to raise this child and see her survive to adulthood. Andrew did as well as he could for child care in the wasteland and in that time also learned of his own near immortality. The girl, named Leslie, grew up to be a bright, beautiful teenager. That was when the complications began. Things began stirring within Andrew that had not stirred for years. That scared Andrew greatly, which along with the knowledge he would most likely outlive Leslie led to him eventually leaving his adopted daughter in 2098 to roam the wider wasteland. Many in Portland already loathed Andrew for his monstrous appearance, so he rationalized leaving as making things better for Leslie. Leslie was confused on why her power-armored guardian wanted to abandon her, and the two left each other on bad terms. Andrew roamed the wasteland for nearly fifty years after leaving Portland, taking part in numerous adventures all over the wasteland. That was with thoughts of returning to Portland always in the back of his mind. After gaining numerous new experiences, Andrew Boucher also gained a new name: Slime. This was a epithet thrown at Andrew innumerable times in 2111 that he actually adopted to put his pre-War past behind him. The name stuck after that. Slime came back to Portland in 2146, feeling that it had long enough. He had not really expected Leslie to be still alive, but Slime was mortified to find out she had died in 2101, only three years after he left her. I failed. This sent Slime on a long string of chem and alcohol binges. That ended with a couple of people dead, but Slime was still alive to his chagrin. Since returning back to Portland, Slime has lived the life of a hard-boiled mercenary. He still has morals of a sort but they definitely degraded from their pre-War ideals. Slime, however his name might imply, is not really an unsavory character just a little coarse and willing to get his hands dirty. He has some friends within circles of other mercs in Portland but nothing lasting, since he will no-doubt outlive most of them. His status as a pre-War ghoul in power armor makes him interesting to many curious individuals, though Slime rarely ever entertains their requests for stories and instead asking them if they have a job for him. Patch Schmidt Patch Schmidt is a life-wary scavenger who lives in Cornell while poking through the ruins all around Portland. He has little concern about the factions throughout Portland besides the survival of his family and caps. Born at the Portland International Airport in 2256, Patch was the third in a family of scavvers. Patch followed his parents' lessons and stayed out of trouble even as the Oregon Brushfire Wars consumed Portland. His family's friendship with the Mutant Hunters and then the FNA helped Patch out. After Portland settled down into relative stability in the 2270s, Patch got married and had his own family in Cornell. He currently lives there today, a traditional family man who lives his life as many others in Portland do (a rather boring existence someone like Aloysius Fenchurch would scorn). His loyalty to his family is his best attribute, while Patch's fear of change is his eternal weakness. Aloysius Fenchurch Aloysius Fenchurch is a Ghoul who has lived in Portland since before the Great War. Unconcerned with the factions and tribalism within the ruined city, his primary concern is ensuring that he remains on the cutting edge of everything around him. He has the amazing ability to spot a trend coming and hop onto it as fast as possible before it becomes widely known and popular. He will then be able to spread the news about this latest development while pointing out that he was into it before it was popular or well known. Be it artisan Brahmin cheese, hand-crafted Pipe weapons, ballistic-reinforced flannel shirts or whatever other new and amazing discovery he has made. He is also committed to the idea of ensuring that Portland remains ‘weird’. Or, as he puts it, ‘not turning into another cookie-cutter picket fence wasteland with the same raiders, slavers, robots and super mutants as everywhere else.’ Notable Locations Columbia River Bridge One of the two remaining bridges in Portland that still span the Columbian River, the Columbia River Bridge was built in 1908 as a means to carry irrigation water pipelines across the Columbia River. The bridge survived the Great War in relatively good shape, but it has grown rather unstable as years of caravan traffic passed over it. Currently, the bridge is held by Skull-Taker's Legion who guard it jealously. Ironically, them not letting traffic over the bridge has more or less prevented it from falling apart on its own. Columbia River Gorge Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River, of which only some is within the boundaries of Portland. Extending roughly from the confluence of the Columbia with the Deschutes River in the east down to the eastern reaches of the Portland metropolitan area, the area is mostly inhabited by homesteaders and Oregon tribals. The part of the river gorge near Portland is mostly inhabited by members of Skull-Taker's Legion, who have a couple of small villages there. It used to be a caravan route before the arrival of Skull-Taker's Legion and some caravans still occasionally come through. Cornell Cornell is one of the largest settlements in Portland, a hub of scavengers and caravaners. One of the communities to emerge from the remnants of Vault 9, Cornell gained enough power to fend off the raiders and mutants living in Portland. Over the years, Cornell has gained something of an entrepreneurial flair. Currently, Cornell is vaguely under the protection of the Free Northwestern Army, who rarely show up. The town has secure walls and a sound militia that protects the people of Cornell from the dangers of the wasteland. Jackson Bridge The Jackson Bridge, once known as the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, is one of the two bridges over the Columbia left in Portland and the more stable one at that. However, the bridge has the bad luck to be occupied by one of the last raider gangs in Portland, a motley band led by the sadistic raider boss Gremlin. The raiders have fortified the bridge and keep it under close watch, knowing its value to caravaners. If the raiders are in good mood one day, they might even let a caravan cross over the bridge in exchange for a bribe. Otherwise, the Jackson Bridge is closed for caravan traffic. Government Island Government Island is the island that the Jackson Bridge crosses over, and it is under the control of the same raider gang that police the bridge (and who owe their name to the island). The Government Island Gang has set up small shacks and camps all over Government Island, their base of operations when raiding the rest of Portland. The island’s interior is home to a small brahmin-ranching operation the raiders have been running to have meat year-round. Portland Japanese Garden The Portland Japanese Garden is a strangely beautiful place, even if its titular garden has been dead since the Great War. The exotic trees that once peopled the guardian are not alive but are still there, in the form of petrified trunks and limbs reaching for the sky like the hands of dying men asking God for forgiveness. The garden is a frequent haunt for ghouls, feral and not feral, who seem to like the calmness of the dead trees. Mount Tabor Mount Tabor is a scavver town mainly based around the dormant volcano Mount Tabor and the Mount Tabor Mission of the New Disciples. Mount Tabor emerged soon after the war, a community built by refugees who fled to the mountain for safety from radiation and looters. Mount Tabor became something of a bright light in the long night after the war but stagnated as the years went on, with many of its residents fleeing in the early 2200s because of the predations of vault dwellers of Vault 9. The town saw a rebound however with the establishment of the Mount Tabor Mission by the New Disciples, a Christian evangelical group with a humanitarian calling that was unsurprisingly rare in the wasteland. With the help of the New Disciples’ help through education, medicine, and faith, Mount Tabor has survived. Today, it is still mostly a scavver town and is protected by the FNA like many other nearby settlements in Portland. Oswego The settlement Oswego is a more urban community in the southern part of Portland, benefiting greatly from caravans from the south and FNA protection. A settlement founded by vault dwellers and the original home of the Mutant Hunters, Oswego has been a militant community for a long time and has made an transition to being the headquarters of the FNA in Portland. This has led to Oswego being fortified quite considerably in recent years to guard against the FNA's enemies. Pittock Mansion Pittock Mansion is a French Renaissance-style château located in West Hills just southeast of Portland. Having switched hands numerous times and sustained innumerable attacks, the mansion has remained in relatively good condition for all the action its seen. Pittock Mansion is very defensible and stands over numerous homesteads that have repeatedly been made into fiefdoms. Currently, Pittock Mansion is under the thumb of a raider-turned FNA sergeant named Jackboot who only recently joined the FNA's fold so as not to get stamped out. In exchange, Jackboot continues to hold Pittock Mansion and its surrounding environs as his own kingdom of sorts. Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a vast ruin in the southern side of the Columbia River that once served as Portland's premier airport. The airport took quite a beating after the war but did not remain radioactive for very long. As a result, the location soon became a den for scavengers, mutants, and tribals. It has been frequent target of the Mutant Hunters due to a small number of super mutants residing there. Now, there are no super mutants at the airport due to the presence of Skull-Taker's Legion who now occupy the area. Caesar Skull-Taker has made a personal fortress out of several wrecked planes he has stacked beside each other. He hopes to make a fortress to rival the Old World's constructs. Vault 9 The origin of much of Portland's current population, Vault 9 now stands empty. The vault dwellers of Vault 9 left their vault in the early 2200s to build a new civilization similar to Vault City with a more capitalistic edge. This succeeded a while until they were shattered by a wandering stranger, and integrated with the rest of the wasteland. Now, the vault dwellers' descendants could not even tell you the vault's experiment. Currently, the vault is open but practically falling apart due structural failure. Scavvers and raiders have used the vault since the departure of its original occupants, but the arrival of Skull-Taker's Legion has emptied it out for good it seems. Category:Places Category:Cascadia